Social media stunned as Ravindra Jadeja hands over CSK captaincy back to MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni had resigned from his position as CSK at the start of the IPL 2022; handing over the reigns to Ravindra Jadeja.
In a real shocker, Ravindra Jadeja has decided to handover the captaincy reigns for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) back to MS Dhoni for the remainder of IPL 2022.
CSK announced a leadership u-turn from the premier allrounder on Saturday (April 30) evening, stating that he has opted to focus solely on his playing duties.
Jadeja, CSK mentioned in an official release, requested former skipper Dhoni to resume captaincy duties of the side for the rest of the tournament, to which the wicketkeeper-batter agreed in the "larger interest" of the side.
"Ravindra Jadeja has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game & has requested MS Dhoni to lead CSK. MS Dhoni has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest & to allow Jadeja to focus on his game," CSK tweeted with an official release.
MS Dhoni gets CSK captaincy back as Ravindra Jadeja resigns; fans react
Ravindra Jadeja's brief tenure as CSK captain coincided with the franchise playing some poor cricket in IPL 2022. Of his eight games at the helm, Jadeja enjoyed victories in only two, with CSK all but out of the playoffs race for the tournament, placed ninth on the ten-team standings.
Moreover, even as Jadeja was put on the captaincy pedestal, it was evident by the team's on-field functioning that CSK are still essentially MS Dhoni's side. The legendary figure was seen setting the fields and guiding his players from behind the stumps, while Jadeja went through his fielding duties from the deep.
Jadeja to handover CSK captaincy back to MS Dhoni:Ravindra Jadeja has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game & has requested MS Dhoni to lead CSK. MS Dhoni has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest & to allow Jadeja to focus on his game.
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 30, 2022
Angst at their team's poor showing this season, CSK fans were left further bemused by a sudden captaincy shift in their team's camp and reacted with anger and displeasure about it over the social media.
Here is how they reacted:
They've made a joke of this in all honesty. What was the need for the hand over then if Jadeja wasn't ready? It could be down to Jadeja's own form taking a hit and the pressure he's had as a result but this is extremely poor just because of bad season. Barring an extra toss... https://t.co/B3KBFlv9c4
— Soorya Sesha (@sooryasesha7) April 30, 2022
Feel for Jadeja, hope the communication in the group is very clear. https://t.co/jDdoUYJRPQ
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) April 30, 2022
Good decision man @imjadeja. Hope you perform well in the upcoming match without any pressure. Really missing those Jadeja finishes. 💛 https://t.co/XEua9X9Wwz
— Chinmayee (@FlickedForSix) April 30, 2022
Jadeja giving captaincy back to MS be like: https://t.co/0MFeWe0AUU pic.twitter.com/4gz0domPDG
— Akash Kumar Jha (@Akashkumarjha14) April 30, 2022
It is pretty random that CSK are doing this. They should have not given him captaincy with 2 days to go in the first place. Either way only good thing is that his post match interviews are back. https://t.co/3CASh5iRMb
— Gaurav Sundararaman (@gaurav_sundar) April 30, 2022
One bites the dust. First resignation of IPL 22 https://t.co/EBCD6y5IXE
— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) April 30, 2022
If Dhoni wasn't gonna captain, they should've bought a captain in the auctions tbh. Jadeja hasn't even captained a side in his senior career. This captaincy change has affected his batting as well.
— Anirudh (@OffDrive_) April 30, 2022
Jadeja resigning is sad but not surprising. I hope he does better now.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) April 30, 2022
Dhoni being offered is sort of desperate.
Dhoni accepting the role baffles me, though. All that extra stress... for what?
Thala and Jadeja with CSK captaincy: pic.twitter.com/u27MnacBM6
— shruti (Dhoni fan acc) (@Quick__Single) April 30, 2022
Some of the fans, however, are considering it a late course correction on the part of CSK management, who they think had erred in appointing Jadeja as MS Dhoni's replacement in the first place. There may have been a consideration for CSK to appoint a fresh skipper but the franchise seems to be putting their final hopes for the season on Dhoni's shoulder even as the skipper is aged 40.